Family settles with 'T,' Amtrak for $3.9 million

The family of a Wellesley man who suffered a fatal heart attack on a commuter train that continued to make stops to pick up passengers has settled a wrongful death lawsuit against the MBTA and Amtrak for $3.9 million, lawyers involved in the case said.

The settlement was approved by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority board of directors three weeks before the case was scheduled to go to trial in federal court in Boston.

James R. Allen, 61, an internationally recognized coastal scientist who worked for the U.S. Geological Survey, was stricken on July 30, 2002. The commuter train he was on continued to make scheduled stops despite pleas from other passengers to seek medical help.

More than 20 minutes after Allen collapsed, paramedics unsuccessfully used a defibrillator at the Back Bay station to try to revive him.

A lawyer for Allen's wife, Marlene Allen, said she agreed to settle because the case brought about changes in the MBTA's emergency procedures.

"This has never been about money with Marlene," attorney Leo V. Boyle told The Boston Globe. "It has always been about keeping the public safety issue front and center."

The MBTA blamed Amtrak for Allen's death and said it would sue the federal agency to recover the full amount of the settlement.

Amtrak contracted with the MBTA to run the commuter rail system and it was an Amtrak conductor who allegedly refused to stop the train. Amtrak no longer runs the MBTA's commuter trains.